Another unique incident of wild animal rescue, the second in a few days, we had in Lesvos with the rescuers of the Wildlife Rescue Scout Group (PODAZ), members of the 5th Marine Scout System of Mithymna Lesvos.

Yesterday, Sunday, in the morning, a resident from Mesotopos, during a day trip to Makara beach, spotted a large predator at the edge of the beach and contacted a rescuer from Molyvos to go to the spot.

The wild bird was identified as a vulture (Gyps fulvus).

After the rescuers arrived at the scene and found that it could not fly, with special equipment they managed to immobilize the large bird and transport it safely to a special cage at the Scouts’ headquarters in Molyvos.

Following communication with ANIMA-Association for the Protection and Care of Wildlife, it was deemed necessary to transport him to Athens for first aid.

On the same day, the animal was placed in a special shipping box and delivered to the liner from Mytilini to Piraeus, where it was received by members of ANIMA for appropriate medical treatment.

As it became known, serum was placed in the bird and ANIMA experts say they are optimistic about the course of his health.

According to the staff of the Museum of Natural History of the Lesvos Petrified Forest and the Center for Environmental Information of Kalloni, where they systematically record all bird species in the wetlands of Western Lesvos and implement actions to inform and raise public awareness, vultures are transient species from the island of Lesbos. Usually one or two individuals are seen each spring or fall.

In Greece it breeds only in a few areas, such as Crete, Thrace, Eastern Macedonia, Aitoloakarnania and the islands of Naxos and Heraklia. Outside our country it is found only in southern Europe (Spanish, Italian and Balkan peninsula) and west in the Middle East and South Asia up to India. For the winter, especially the young, they migrate to other areas, further south and some end up in the sub-Saharan region of Africa.